When the Tommies make their first trip to Idaho on Saturday to play the University of Idaho Vandals, they will be led by a Boise, Idaho, native, who traveled halfway across the country to fulfill his dream of playing Division I football.
St. Thomas quarterback Andy Peters, circa Aug. 2025. (courtesy of the University of St. Thomas)
Had things worked out just a little bit differently, however, graduate transfer Andy Peters would be lining up against the Tommies on Saturday, instead of for them.
One of Peters’ former teammates and good friends at his previous school, the College of Idaho, works in the equipment room for the Vandals. They had a conversation in the offseason about Peters’ football plans, with Peters making it clear that he hoped to sign on with the Division-I team.
“He said he’d talk to some people (in the Vandals program) about it,” Peters said. “He came back a couple weeks later and told me the situation. They were looking at (Joshua Wood), a transfer from Fresno State. If they couldn’t get him, they wanted me.
“A couple days later he called and said, ‘Sorry, buddy, the guy committed.’”
As happy as he is to have landed in St. Paul, Peters acknowledges that it would have been special to play for the Vandals.
“It would have been awesome to stay home,” he said, “and family and friends would have loved it.”
Instead, Peters estimates that 15 family members and friends will make the five-hour trip north to attend the game. One person who won’t be there is Peters’ fiancé, Ilah, who has a relatively unique reason for missing the game.
“She’s a game warden, and that’s the opening day for archery,” Peters said. “She’s the only game warden for 6,500 square miles, so she has to be there.”
Peters had a strong debut last week in the Tommies’ 35-13 victory over Lindenwood. He threw for 172 yards and two touchdowns, but just as importantly emerged as a much-needed stabilizing force for the Tommies’ offense.
“The more hearty and stable that position is, it allows you to do different things with the other positions,” Tommies head coach Glenn Caruso said. “He’s playing with a belief in his ability and his brothers that makes everyone around him feel comfortable.”
Peters will be looking to build on what he was able to do in his debut.
“I felt like I left a little bit on the table,” he said. “But it’s just going to come with time. That’s what I’m excited for this week and the next how many weeks it is; just continue to learn and grow.”
Peters, who said he always gets nervous before games, acknowledges that things will be ramped up on Saturday.
“I want to feel the emotion of the situation,” he said, “but not let it overtake me. You just can’t let the emotions get too high or too low. It’s been since July that I’ve been back to Idaho, so it will be nice to go back.”
Peters and his teammates figure to have their hands full with the Vandals, No. 11 in the FCS Coaches Poll. The Vandals (0-1), who play in the Big Sky Conference, nearly pulled off a major upset in their opener, losing at Washington State on a late field goal.
The Vandals will be the toughest opponent the Tommies will have faced since 2021, when they lost 44-3 at Northern Iowa. Caruso likened the Vandals to North Dakota State and South Dakota State, two of the perennial powers in the FCS.
For what it’s worth, the Tommies can enter the game feeling good about themselves after last week’s success.
“Coming off a nice win should give us a pretty good platform for which to build,” Caruso said, “but this team is a whole different beast. They play in an environment that is electric. The Kibbie Dome is know to be intense and raucous. “They’ll put 15,340 people in there, and it’s going to be gold and black from corner to corner.”
Caruso entered the non-conference portion of the schedule wary of the physical toll it could take on his team, and, indeed, the Tommies took a hit in that department in Week 1.
“We went into the game as healthy as we’ve ever gone into Week 1,” Caruso said. ‘We came out of it a little more banged up than I wanted us to be. Now, we’re going have to have some young guys, some freshmen, to step up.”
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